ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Railways
Indian Railways launches massive drive against smoking and carriage of inflammable material through Railways
7 days long Intensive Awareness Drive to educate all the stakeholders launched at All Zonal Railways
Besides Massive Awareness Drive, regular checks at stations and in trains will be undertaken under this intensive drive
In the view of incidents of fire resulting in loss of property and danger to life in various Zonal Railways, out of which few incidents appeared to have been caused by smoking onboard or transportation of inflammable material by the train. To curb such incidents, Indian Railways launched a massive drive against smoking and carriage of inflammable material through Railways. The above drive has been launched from 22.03.2021 with legal action from 31.03.2021. The drive may be continued till 30.04.2021.
Indian Railways has instructed all Zonal Railways to take following measures in mission mode:
1. Intensive Awareness Drive: An intensive awareness drive of 7 days may be launched to educate all the stakeholders i.e. railway users and railway/non railway employees working at stations and in trains such as parcel staff, lease holders and their staff, parcel porters, catering staff, staff engaged through outsourcing among others about precautions to be taken against fire incidents like enforcing “No Smoking”, preventing carriage of inflammable material through rail, checking SLRs/VPUs/Leased parcels against transportation of inflammable material etc by direct interaction, distribution of leaflets, pamphlets, pasting of stickers, conducting Nukkad Nataks, announcement through PA System at stations, advertisement in print, electronic media and social media etc.
2. Post the massive awareness drive, an intensive & sustained drive should be launched for the following:
a. Intensive drive may be conducted against smoking in trains and railway premises and violators may be booked under relevant provisions of Railways Act or Tobacco Act. An officer not below the rank of ticket collector of the commercial department or an officer of equivalent rank of operating department or an officer not below the rank of ASI in RPF have been notified as competent to act under the provisions of Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act 2003.
b. Regular checks may be done in trains against carriage of inflammable and explosive goods, including pantry cars  and violators may be booked under relevant sections of Railways Act.
c. Regular checks may be undertaken in platforms, yards, washing/sick lines, stables coaches to check cases of lighting fire, using sigri for cooking food, collection of inflammable debris among others. The fueling points may also be covered under these checks. Legal action may be taken against the culprits.
d. Checking of parcels booked through Parcel offices/leaseholders may be done to curb chances of booking of inflammable and explosives material.
e. Action against authorized/unauthorized vendors using sigri/stoves in train and at platforms may also be taken.
Ministry of Defence
Production of Defence Equipment in ‘Make-In-India’ Programme
‘Make in India’ is implemented in defence sector through various policy initiatives which promotes indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence items. As per Defence Acquisition Procedure , priority has been accorded to capital acquisition through ‘Buy ’, ‘Buy ’, ‘Buy and Make ’, ‘Buy and Make’ ‘Strategic Partnership Model’ or ‘Make’ categories over Buy  category. In the last three financial years i.e. from 2018-19 to 2020-2021, Government has accorded Acceptance of Necessity  to 119 Defence proposals, worth Rs.2,15,690 Crore approximately, under the various categories of Capital Acquisition, which promotes domestic manufacturing as per DAP.
Many significant projects including 155mm Artillery Gun system ‘Dhanush’, Bridge Laying Tank, Thermal Imaging Sight Mark-II for T-72 tank, Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’, ‘Akash’ Surface to Air Missile system, Submarine ‘INS Kalvari’, ‘INS Chennai’, Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette , Arjun Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle, Landing craft utility, etc. have been produced in the country under ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government in last few years.
Further, production of indigenous defence equipment and innovations therein is a dynamic process and their development is decided on the basis of operational requirements of the Armed Forces. So, no specific timeline can be assigned in such cases. Procurement of defence equipment is undertaken from various domestic as well as foreign vendors, based on threat perception, operational challenges and technological changes and to keep the Armed Forces in a state of readiness to face the security challenges.
This information was given by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to Shri MV Shreyams Kumar in Rajya Sabha today.
ABB/Nampi/KA/DK/Savvy
(Visitor Counter : 1402
Ministry of Law and Justice
Press Communique
In exercise of the power conferred by clause  of Article 217 and by clause  of Article Article 224 of the Constitution of India, the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the following as Judges /Additional Judges of the following High Courts, w.e.f. the date they assume charge of their respective offices:-
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Sl.
No.
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Name 
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Name of High Court
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1.
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Smt. Poonam A. Bamba, Judicial Officer
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As Judges of the Delhi High Court
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2.
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Ms. Swarana Kanta Sharma, Judicial Officer
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3.
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Rajiv Roy, Advocate
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As Judges of the Patna High Court.
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4.
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Harish Kumar, Advocate
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5.
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Umesh Chandra Sharma, Judicial Officer
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As an Additional Judge of the Allahabad with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office, till 31.12.2022.
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6.
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Rahul Bharti, Advocate
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As Additional Judges of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
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7.
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Ms. Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, Advocate
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8.
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Ms. Nidumolu Mala, Advocate
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As Additional Judges of the Madras High Court
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9.
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S. Sounthar, Advocate
Department of Justice , Ministry of Law & Justice.
Ministry of Home Affairs
38 Divyang students from Gujarat meet Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah
As part of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, 38 Divyang students of the Government Primary School of Gujarat's IED department, in Kalol Tehsil, Gandhinagar, met the Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah, in New Delhi today. They were accompanied by special teachers and parents. After this meeting, the students visited Parliament House.
These children undertook their first air travel from Gujarat to Delhi. Gujarat tourism pitched in with their support in this visit.
The event was organized from the amount of money saved by selling rakhis and colourfully decorated diyas made by these differently-abled children during the festivals of Rakhi and Diwali respectively.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 186.54 Cr
Over 2.43 Cr 1st dose vaccines administered for age group 12-14 years
India's Active caseload currently stands at 11,542
2,183 new cases reported in the last 24 hours
Recovery Rate currently stands at 98.76%
Weekly Positivity Rate is presently at 0.32%
India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 186.54 Cr  as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 2,27,52,392 sessions.
COVID-19 vaccination for the age group 12-14 years was started on 16 March, 2022. So far, more than 2.43 Cr  adolescents have been administered with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Similarly, the COVID-19 precaution dose administration for age group 18-59 years also started from 10th April, 2022 onwards. 1,62,532 precaution doses have been administered so far.
The break-up of the cumulative figure as per the provisional report till 7 am today include:
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Cumulative Vaccine Dose Coverage
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HCWs
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1st Dose
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10404362
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2nd Dose
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10008336
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Precaution Dose
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4600509
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FLWs
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1st Dose
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18414332
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2nd Dose
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17526051
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Precaution Dose
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7142520
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Age Group 12-14 years
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1st Dose
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24355282
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2nd Dose
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171544
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Age Group 15-18 years
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1st Dose
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57887693
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2nd Dose
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40464152
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Age Group 18-44 years
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1st Dose
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555263343
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2nd Dose
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472819549
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Precaution Dose
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37140
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Age Group 45-59 years
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1st Dose
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202851927
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2nd Dose
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186818486
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Precaution Dose
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125392
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Over 60 years
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1st Dose
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126814564
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2nd Dose
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116368094
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Precaution Dose
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13421079
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Precaution Dose
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2,53,26,640
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Total
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1,86,54,94,355
India’s Active Caseload currently stands at 11,542. Active cases now constitute 0.03% of the country's total Positive Cases.
Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.76%. 1,985 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients  is now at 4,25,10,773.
2,183 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
The last 24 hours saw a total of 2,61,440 COVID-19 tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 83.21 Cr  cumulative tests.
Weekly Positivity Rate in the country currently stands at 0.32% and the Daily Positivity rate is also reported to be 0.83%.
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy Capacity Building
The Government has set a target for achieving 175 GW Renewable Energy  capacity  by the year 2022. So far, 96.95 GW of cumulative installed RE capacity  has been achieved as on June 30, 2021 in the country.
The Renewable power is purchased by DISCOMs which pool it with conventional power and supply it to all consumers including Government & non-Government institutes.
The generation of conventional electrical energy has decreased from 1249.33 Billion Units in 2018-19 to 1234.61 BUs in 2020-21 despite increase in total electricity generation from 1376.09 BUs to 1381.85 BUs.
This information was given by Union Minister for power and New and Renewable Energy, Shri R.K. Singh in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves closure of Handicrafts and Handlooms Export Corporation of India Limited
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the closure of Handicrafts and Handlooms Export Corporation of India Limited , the Corporation, a Government of India undertaking under the administrative control of the Ministry of Textiles.
There are 59 permanent employees and 6 Management Trainees serving in the Corporation. All the permanent employees and Management Trainees will be given an opportunity to avail the benefit of a Voluntary Retirement Scheme  as per norms laid down by the Department of Public Enterprises.
The approval will benefit the Government exchequer in reducing recurring expenditure on salary/wages of sick CPSE which is not in operation and earning no income.
The Corporation has been continuously incurring losses since financial year 2015-16 and not earning sufficient income to meet its running expenses. There is little scope for its revival, necessitating closure of the Company.
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation
Indicators for monitoring of compliance with Sustainable Development Goals 
The Ministry has developed a National Indicator Framework  consisting of 306 indicators for monitoring the progress of Sustainable Development Goals . The Ministry has also designed metadata format and guidelines for source Ministries to report data on SDGs indicators.
The Ministry has developed a dashboard for SDGs to show progress on the indicators. NITI Aayog has also constituted a Task Force on implementation of SDGs and developed an SDG India Index to show state-wise position and progress on SDGs.
This information was given by the Minister of State  of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Minister of State  of the Ministry of Planning, Shri Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM to dedicate to the nation the 750 MW Rewa Solar Project
Rewa project will reduce carbon emission equivalent to approx. 15 lakh ton of CO2 per year
The Project exemplifies India’s commitment to attain the target of 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation the 750 MW Solar Project set up at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh on July 10, 2020.
This Project comprises of three solar generating units of 250 MW each located on a 500 hectare plot of land situated inside a Solar Park . The Solar Park was developed by the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited , a Joint Venture Company of Madhya Pradesh UrjaVikas Nigam Limited , and Solar Energy Corporation of India , a Central Public Sector Undertaking. Central Financial Assistance of Rs. 138 crore has been provided to RUMSL for development of the Park. After the Park had been developed, Mahindra Renewables Private Ltd., ACME Jaipur Solar Power Private Ltd., and Arinsun Clean Energy Private Ltd were selected by RUMSL through reverse auction for developing three solar generating units of 250 MW each inside the Solar Park. Rewa Solar Project is an example of the excellent results that can be achieved if there is synergy between Central and State Governments.
The Rewa Solar Project was the first solar project in the country to break the grid parity barrier. Compared to prevailing solar project tariffs of approx. Rs. 4.50/unit in early 2017, the Rewa project achieved historic results: a first year tariff of Rs. 2.97/unit with a tariff escalation of Rs. 0.05/unit over 15 years and a levelized rate of Rs. 3.30/unit over the term of 25 years. This project will reduce carbon emission equivalent to approx. 15 lakh ton of CO2 per year.
The Rewa Project has been acknowledged in India and abroad for its robust project structuring and innovations. Its payment security mechanism for reducing risks to power developers has been recommended as a model to other States by MNRE. It has also received World Bank Group President’s Award for innovation and excellence and was included in the book “A Book of Innovation: New Beginnings” released by Prime Minister. The project is also the first renewable energy project to supply to an institutional customer outside the State, i.e. Delhi Metro, which will get 24% of energy from the project with remaining 76% being supplied to the State DISCOMs of Madhya Pradesh.
The Rewa Project also exemplifies India’s commitment to attain the target of 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by the year 2022, including 100 GW of Solar installed capacity.
Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Citizens Charter for Gram Panchayats
Ministry of Panchayati Raj has prepared a Model Panchayat Citizens Charter/ framework for delivery of the services across the 29 sectors, aligning actions with localised Sustainable Development Goals  for the Panchayats to adopt & customize. The aim is to provide services to the people in a time bound manner, redressing their grievances and improving their lives. The ‘Meri Panchayat, Mera Adhikaar- Jan Sevaayein Hamaare Dwaar’ campaign was rolled out from 01st July to 30th September, 2021. The campaign had emerged as an effective strategy for ensuring the Gram Panchayats have a Citizen Charter approved by the respective Gram Sabhas in place, cataloguing the different categories of services rendered to the citizen by the Panchayat and the time limit for such service.
As on date, over 2.32 Lakh Gram Panchayats across 31 States/ UTs have conducted Gram Sabha and 2.15 Lakh Gram Panchayats have now finalised their Citizen Charters.
With Panchayats being the State subject, the service delivery and the related grievance redressal mechanisms are determined, managed and monitored by the respective State Government themselves.
This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Special National Standards Conclave Held in Mumbai
A Special National Standards Conclave was organized by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India on February 8-9 in Mumbai, in association with the Bureau of Indian Standards , Confederation of Indian Industry , Export Inspection Council , Centre for Research in International Trade  and National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies . Commerce Secretary, Shri Anup Wadhawan inaugurated the conclave.
Dr. Anup Wadhawan, Secretary, Department of Commerce, in his keynote address underlined the importance of avoiding conflict of interest among regulators policy environment and implementation bodies to achieve quality ecosystem. He also mentioned that the Indian National Strategy for Standardization  is a dynamic document and needs to get more ambitious as time and technology advances.
Mr. Sudhanshu Pandey, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, while emphasizing that standards are not only for exporters, but have become essential for producers, manufacturers and service providers for their survival itself, he further informed the audience about the work being currently underway in Government of India for strengthening regulatory ecosystem without compromising on the ease of doing business.
The conclave deliberated INSS for the effective implementation on the first day and the market access and industry aspect of utilising this strategy on the second day. Following recommendations were given at the end of conclave as the way forward:
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Separation of roles for avoidance of conflict of interest in regulatory framework
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An overarching de novo legislative instrument for notifying technical regulations, and surveillance mechanism with an independent market surveillance agency  needs to be set up
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Set up a National Task Force under Department of Commerce to drive standards setting for services especially champion sectors
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Acceptability of industry driven standards by Standards Developing Organizations
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Formulation of appropriate conformity assessment procedures based on international best practices and self-regulation by Conformity Assessment Bodies to uphold the credibility of conformity assessment
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Strategy to dominate participation in international standardization in critical sectors for India in standards and conformity assessment with an oversight mechanism to ensure high expertise
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Expedite notification of technical regulations to bridge regulatory deficit
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Consortium of concerned Ministries and Government agencies, CII and Industry Bodies, QCI, BIS, to create awareness and build capacity among industry  and other stakeholders regarding new regulations being implemented 
The Conclave was attended by senior officers from Department of Commerce, other central government ministries and departments and from state governments. Industry associations, subject experts and general public with interest in the subject participated in the conclave in large numbers.
The Special Standards Conclave also saw launch of voluntary certification and rating scheme for private security services developed by QCI.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Government sanctions assistance to tune of Rs 3.65 Crore for international exposure trips of Indian Athletics and Yatching teams
Indian track and field athletes are set for international exposure tours ahead of a packed schedule this year that constitutes the World Athletics Championship, the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games 2022. Two such exposure trips in the month of April have been sanctioned at cost to the Government of India.
The Indian Athletics middle and long-distance teams comprising of 12 athletes, 2 coaches and 1 support staff shall undergo training-cum-competition in Colorado Spring, USA from April 15 to June 6. The team includes Avinash Sable, who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 3000m steeplechase. A total of Rs 1.19 Crore has been sanctioned by the Government for the exposure trip.
Similarly, the Indian Athletics 400m and 4x100m teams comprising of 31 athletes, 4 coaches and 5 support staff shall undergo training-cum-competition in Antalya, Turkey, from April 10 to June 6. The team includes Tokyo 2020 Olympics competitors Amoj Jacob, Arokia Rajiv, Noah Nirmal Tom, Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Subha Venkatesan, who took part in the relay events, and Dutee Chand, who competed in the 100m and 200m events. A total of Rs 1.57 Crore has been sanctioned by the Government for the exposure trip.
Meanwhile, the Indian Yachting Team, comprising 18 Sailors – 11 men and 7 female, along with 6 coaches and 1 support staff, have also been cleared at full cost to the Government to train and participate in events in Spain and France this April. The international trip started on April 1 and is scheduled until May 1. Events are scheduled in Palma, Spain and Hyeres. The team features Tokyo 2020 Olympians Vishnu Saravanan, KC Ganapathy, Varun Thakkar and Nethra Kumanan. The total amount sanctioned is Rs 89.27 Lakh.
Ministry of Heavy Industries
Automotive Mission Plan
The Automotive Mission Plan  2006-16 taken up jointly by Government of India and the India automotive industry has been largely successful in its endeavor to lay down the roadmap for development of the industry. India has attracted significant quantum of investments from global and local original equipment manufacturers  as well as component manufacturers, exceeding the target of Rs. 1,57,500 crore.
The Automotive industry has achieved the target of incremental employment creation of 25 million jobs over the period. For the next decade 2016-26, another Automotive Mission Plan, 2026 has also been finalized jointly by the Government of India and Indian automotive industry.Automobile industry has made significant achievements in developing designing and manufacturing capability in the country. India has now emerged from just an automobile producing hub to designing and development hub as well.
This information was given by the Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Prakash Javadekar, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha yesterday.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
1.06 LMT wheat and 100 MT rice sold in the 5th e auction of 2023-24
Centre’s market intervention aims at providing relief to the consumers
The Food Corporation of India  organized the 5th e auction of 2023-24 to sell wheat and rice here today. In the e-auction, 1.06 LMT wheat and 100 MT rice was sold.
In order to control the retail price of rice, wheat and atta, weekly e auctions are being organized. Government of India is committed towards price stabilization and its market intervention is aimed at providing relief to the consumers.
A quantity of 1.16 LMT wheat from 361 depots and 1.46 LMT rice from 178 depots were offered from across the country.
The weighted average selling price was Rs. 2182.68/qtl for FAQ wheat against the reserve price of Rs. 2150/qtl Pan India whereas weighted average selling price of URS wheat was Rs. 2173.85/qtl against the reserve price of Rs. 2125/qtl.
The weighted average selling price was Rs. 3151.10/qtl for rice against the reserve price of Rs. 3151.10/qtl Pan India.
In the current tranche of e-auctions, the reduction in retail price is being targeted by offering up to 100 tons maximum for a buyer for wheat and 1000 tons for rice. This decision is to encourage small and marginal end users and to ensure that more participants could come forward and bid for the quantity from their depot of choice.
Ministry of Earth Sciences
Hourly Update on Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm, ‘Fani’ over Northwest & Adjoining Westcentral Bay of Bengal
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DATE/TIME  OF OBSERVATION
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03-05-2019 
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LOCATION LATITUDE/LONGITUDE
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THE EXTREMELY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM “FANI” WEAKENED INTO A VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM AND LAY CENTERED AT 1130 HOURS IST OF TODAY, 03rd MAY, 2019 NEAR LAT. 20.20N AND LONG. 85.90E OVER COASTAL ODISHA ABOUT 10 KM TO EAST OF BHUBANESWAR AND 30 KM TO THE SOUTH OF.CUTTACK.
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CURRENT WIND SPEED OF THE CYCLONE
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150-160 KMPH GUSTING TO 175 KMPH.
BHUBANESWAR AIRPORT REPORTED MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WIND SPEED OF 92 KMPH GUSTING TO 130 KMPH AT 1130 HRS IST OF TODAY.
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FORECAST
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THE VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM “FANI” IS VERY LIKELY TO CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTH-NORTHEASTWARDS AND WEAKEN FURTHER INTO A SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM DURING NEXT 06 HOURS.